Read Psalm 19:7-14 First

If there is anything destined to create dryness in one’s spiritual and devotional life it is approaching the Bible solely as a moral and doctrinal text-book, or reference guide to life. In our great desire to see God’s people engage in Bible reading we often portray the Bible as the book of answers, which while true, leads to the perception that this is its great and main purpose. 

Read Psalm 19:1-6 First

Years ago, when I was a boy, everyone had small portable radios and record players. They were, at the time, fascinating examples of electronic technology. With them, we could listen to songs sung many miles away into a microphone and taped. It was so new and amazing that it didn’t occur to me that it could ever get better. I never imagined that I wasn’t hearing the music quite as clearly as it had been originally produced. All of our speakers were mono-stereo would be a latecomer to our home. Up until then the same sound came out of both speakers. 

Read Psalm 18:37-50

It is sometimes difficult for us who live in “civilized societies” to understand the language of war that David uses in this section. David boasts that he overtook and consumed his enemies’ (v.37) and shattered them, and destroyed those who hated him (v.37-42), even claiming to have beaten them into fine dust, and treated them like the muck of the streets. 

Read Psalm 18:30-36 First

If there is anything that every person in the world, regardless of sex, race, color or creed wants in life; it is to have something in life you can always count on. Our lives are littered with broken promises, dashed hopes, and undependable machines that we are nonetheless forced to depend on, changing climates, cultures, politics, styles, and relationships. While change is often for the better, it seems it is just as often not.

Read Psalm 18:20-29 First.

It is a healthy condition for every Christian that they cling tenaciously to the grace of God. There exists no real goodness in us, no real seeking after Him apart from His work of grace in our lives. Yet, there can be a subtle imbalance that can ultimately develop if we’re not careful. Since there is no true and pure goodness in us apart from the work of Christ in our lives, we can begin to imagine that our feeble attempts at obedience and righteousness are really inconsequential. Anything good that happens to us is a result of His grace—and totally disconnected from anything we have done. Because we feel this exalting of His grace honors Him, and “puts us in our proper place” we can be quite put off by statements such as David’s The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness (v.20). 

Read Psalm 18:1-19 first

The genius of David among so many other Biblical characters is his unashamed exclamations of true, deep, and genuine emotion. How precious are David’s first three words, I love Thee (v.1)? He will go on to call God his rock, fortress, deliverer, refuge, shield, salvation, and stronghold (v.2), yet none of these equal the power of his first three words.

Read Psalm 17 first

“Don’t get mad, get even!” That phrase became popular years ago because it so perfectly echoes the desire of our hearts when we are opposed in some way. From the corporate boardroom to the church boardroom to the family bedroom, that sinister disease of our human heart flourishes. 
Before our minds have time to even thoughtfully reflect upon someone’s opposition to our ideas, or plans, or direction, before we can accurately analyze the benefits of their opinion, that disease blooms. We become angry, hurt, and resentful, even if the correction was brought in the most gracious and gentle of ways by those who truly love us. But when those we know dislike us, or have become embittered against us for no good reason begin to attack us, the disease of vengeance can actually begin to control every thought we have, and emotion we feel.

Read Psalm 16 first.

It wasn’t all that long ago that we were digging cellars in our back yard to use as emergency protection from an atomic explosion. While they have long since gone out of fashion, our need for protection and security has not. We constantly worry, about catastrophes of every kind. We buy insurance to protect us from the calamity of fire, flood, earthquakes, tornado’s and others natural disasters. Then we look to air bags to protect us during an accident, and we take vitamins to protect us from sickness. We look for good investments to protect us from future poverty. We try every device known to man to pad our lives and provide us with the security we so desire. 

Read Psalm 15 first.

How we long to feel close to God. There are times when we are in such need, our lives are in such turmoil, all our efforts at solving our problems have met with such failure, that more than anything else at the moment we want to know and feel God’s presence. We want to “abide in His tent, and dwell on His holy hill(v.1)” because we know this is not so much a place as a condition. 

Read Psalm 14 first

Few of us can read a psalm like this and not have our minds instantly consider all the foolish and wicked people in our world. Only the fool can imagine that there is no God (v.1). We think of Madelyn Murray O’Hair, our generations’ most famous atheist and we shake our heads in bewilderment.